Of Nightmares and Scarecrows
by Siberia Riefel Taylor
Summary: Something has come to early twentieth-century England, and the Doctor aims to find it and stop the catastrophe it may cause. But when he and Donna are failed by their technology, it is up to an ordinary girl named Maddie to defeat her greatest fear and save her brother's school. (Doctor/Companion-lite story)
1. Prologue

**So, two years ago, just after I had finished watching the sixth season of Doctor Who, I had a dream with the scarecrows from** _ **Human Nature**_ **and** _ **Family of Blood.**_ **Two days later, I had written the first draft of this story. This is my first fanfiction. I hope you enjoy it.**

 **Author Note: This is based between the Fourth Season episodes** _ **The Doctor's Daughter**_ **and** _ **The Unicorn and the Wasp.**_

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or concepts of Doctor who or the afore-mentioned episodes. I do, however, completely own Maddie and Geoffrey. All others are based on characters from** _ **Human Nature.**_

Prologue

Maddie Smith stumbled in her fancy black boots as she clambered over a short fence. Her friend, Ernest had promised to show her something amazing, but he had warned her to keep up. They were heading in the direction of the barn, but Madeline couldn't be sure.

The fields between her house, which was still in sight, and the dark green barn were golden, and the stiff stalks scraped against Maddie's stockings and sleeves. The sun was hidden behind thick, blue-grey clouds. A light sprinkle of rain pattered on the top of Maddie's head.

"How much further, Ernie?" she demanded. She stumbled as her short legs caught in the last couple of wheat stalks and she skidded into the open barnyard. "Wait up, Ernie." He simple had no sympathy propriety for all his high and mighty talk.

"You have to be faster than that, Madeline," Ernest called over his shoulder, stopping mid-sprint. He turned, revealing the patched knees of his two-inch-too-long trousers and blonde hair poking out of the ragged holes in his cap. He grinned back at her, his two half-grow-in teeth leaving black spaces in his smile.

Don't call me that," Maddie protested. "It's Maddie. Can't you just call me that? M-a-d-d-i-e. Maddie."

"Well, mine's Ernest. E-r-n-e-s-t. Not Ernie."

Ernest had a point. While Maddie liked being called by her nick-name, Ernest hated his. Since Maddie was the daughter of a wealthy businessman, she had had enough of propriety and tea parties. Ernest, on the other hand, was the son of a lowly farmer. Just to jade him, Maddie called out:

"Why not Ernie? It's a lovely name." Maddie stumbled again as Ernie pressed forward.

"A lovely name for a ninny," Ernest grumbled, just loud enough for Maddie to hear. "I'm going to be a gentleman with fine carriages and ebony pipes and a painted miniature of me and me wife."

"Silly boy," Maddie sighed. Her skirt caught on a farm tool- a rake- and she bent to untangle the loose thread. "You can't be a gentleman just by talking like one."

After stepping away from the rake, Maddie looked up. Ernest was gone.

"He must have gone into the barn without me!" Maddie cried indignantly. She hiked up her skirt and petticoat to the point where she was showing a generous amount of bloomer and marched up to the entrance. To her horror, it grew to loom above her.

"Ernie?" she asked, peeping around the large green door and scanning the room. It was crowded with tools and there were a number of chickens milling about. The hay made a crunching sound as she shifted from foot to foot, debating what to do next. Maddie entered warily. It was eerily quiet and her throat went suddenly dry.

With the shutters closed over the windows, it was nightmarishly dark, even up to the cobwebbed rafters. A pigeon flapped down onto a large piece of machinery, cooing loudly.

A movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, and Maddie glanced towards it. Nothing was there but a shoe. A shoe with straw poking out. It was a leg.

"Ernie?" Maddie whispered, stepping over a pile of chicken droppings and evading a large mouse. As she rounded the pillar by the shoe, she found the leg was connected to a disused scarecrow. Maddie giggled at its goofy appearance. "Ernie, come look at this!"

Extending her index finger, Maddie bent to poke its chest. Before she made contact, the splayed scarecrow jumped to life, grabbing Maddie by the wrist.

"Ernie!" she screamed, yanking away and stumbling backwards into something scratchy and solid. Gloved hands squeezed her shoulders, and Maddie kicked out, hobbling the scarecrow behind her. She turned tail and ran for the barn door, which another scarecrow slowly worked to close.

"Ernie!" Maddie breathed hard, but a sharp pain shot up her foot as she tripped and plunged to the floor. Her head rang painfully as it struck the floor. Her chest released as she blacked out.

Ernest decided it was time to stop when Maddie fell.

"Stop," he called to his friends. They pulled of their scarecrow masks and Ernest crept up to Maddie's side, afraid she might punch him. "Maddie, it's just us. It's okay." She made no move to answer. She didn't move at all, except for her breathing. Ernest nervously prodded her shoulder. When this elicited no response, he shuddered.

"I'm getting help," Ernest said, standing and dashing out of the barn. "Keep an eye on her!"

Frightened, Ernest ran the half mile to Maddie's manor, passing cows and crossing a dirt road on the way. He slipped through the bars on the wrought-iron gate, tearing a hole in the waistband of his trousers. He stumbled onto the cobbled front walk and charged through the hedges to get to the servants' entrance. Despite all Ernest had done to become a respectable gentleman, Maddie's father refused to let Ernest in by the front door.

Ernest burst from the hedge and leapt into the kitchen

"What on earth?" one of the scullery maids cried as Ernest brushed past her with a hurried apology. He left the servants' quarters and sprinted down the hard-wood-floored hallway.

"Just a minute, young man. Not on the rug." A hand took hold of Ernest's collar, yanking him away from the embroidered rug. Maddie's father's study was only a few feet away. "Didn't your mother ever teach you to wipe your feet?" Ernest stared at his shoes- caked in mud and dry grass- then looked up at the butler behind him.

"Sir," Ernest started, "I need to speak with Mr. Smith immediately. It's about-"

"Hold a bit," the butler ordered, dragging Ernest back toward the kitchen. Ernest fought the grip on his collar, but the butler took hold of his sleeve, halting his efforts. "I'll send Mr. Smith when he is done with his meeting and one of the maids cleans up the mess."

Ernest looked guiltily at his streaked footprints as the butler pulled him into the kitchen and sat him on a stool. Every moment this butler caused delay, the longer Maddie would remain unattended.

"Sit there, and don't leave that spot until bidden." The butler exited, and Ernest gripped the sides of his stool. Cooks stoked the dinner-time fire, and the clock about the cupboards rattled in a frustrating rhythm. Finally, Maddie's balding father stepped into the kitchen.

"What do you want, boy?" he demanded upon catching sight of Ernest. His well-fitting back suit gleamed in the light from the flickering lamp. Raising an eyebrow, he reached for his gold pocket watch, pulled it out, flipped it open, scowled, and replaced it in his vest. "Well? Make it quick." Someone pulled a flour sack from a shelf and dropped it onto the ground with a billow of white dust.

"Maddie's hurt," Ernest said, not quite finishing before Mr. Smith stormed out the servants' door. Ernest leapt off his stool and struggled to keep up. Mr. Smith opened the front gate and closed it behind him, forcing Ernest to slip through the bars again. A loud ripping sound came from Ernest's trousers, but he tried to ignore it. After crossing the dirt road, thick grass tangled around Ernest's lanky legs, and he lost sight of Mr. Smith/ TO his relief, the grass got shorter, and Mr. Smith came back into view.

The sky had darkened since they left the house, and Ernest could feel the tension emanating off Mr. Smith. They made it to the barn again where they met Ernest's father, led by one of the other boys. His trousers were muddied and there were twigs and splinters in his bristly hair and mustache.

"What's happened?" Mr. Smith demanded of Ernest's father as they strode to the open barn.

"It's my fault, sir," Ernest admitted shamefully.

"Where's Madeline?" Mr. Smith shoved through the door, sweat gleaming on his bald spot and neck. Mr. smith stopped breathing, and Ernest knew he had spotted Maddie and the friend that had been left behind. "Back away, you scoundrel!" Ernest followed his father and his other friend into the barn to see Mr. Smith lift Maddie into his arms. The dust on her dress cascaded onto Mr. Smith's trousers. Ernest dropped his head as Mr. Smith's hostile glare fell upon him.

"You _imbeciles_."

"We didn't do nothing to harm her on purpose," one of Ernest's friends piped up. "She was scared and then she tripped."

 _Shut up,_ Ernest though, hoping his friend would notice the minuscule movements Ernest made with his head.

"Young man, you are never to see my child again, do you hear me?" Mr. Smith carried Maddie out into the yard, nearly tripping over a chicken. He cursed aloud.

"Understood," Ernest's father said calmly.

Without another word, Mr. Smith waded into the grass, carrying Maddie back towards the manor.

"Do you know what could have happened?" Ernest's father asked in the same, frighteningly calm voice he'd used with Mr. Smith. Ernest flinched at the tone. "Go do your chores."

 **Roses are red  
Violets are Blue  
I wrote this in hopes that  
You'd read and review**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who**

Chapter 1

 _Nine Years Later: October 10_ _th_ _, 1910_

Pale white sunlight peeped into the thick, royal blue curtains. Maddie yawned, feeling refreshed. Another dreamless night had passed. _Could this be the end of it?_ she thought, rollinf onto her back and sitting up. The thought delighted her: no more psychiatrist. No more nightmares. No more panic attacks. She smiled, rubbing her cheek with her thumb.

Looking to her door, Maddie saw her open trunk.

"Oh! That's today," Maddie sighed, rolling her eyes. It had been a year since Maddie had last seen her elder brother, and she was excited to visit him, but they would be going to a school for boys. The rumors alone had nearly dissuaded her.

Maddie stretched, pulled her feet from the covers, and swung them off the bed. Staring in the mirror before she began to get ready, Maddie scrutinized her face. Her nose was small, gently pointed, and turned up at the end. She had never liked that part of her features, though her family claimed it was lovely.

Twenty minutes later, Maddie quietly crept down the stairs wearing a faded heather dress and tiptoed to the parlor, awaiting Doctor Creevins. This would hopefully be his last visit, though Maddie was rather fond of him. Someone rapped on the door and Maddie lost herself in memory, reliving the past nine years of her life.

After her fright in the barn, she had awakened to the news that the scarecrows were merely Ernest and his friends. After the discovery of Mr. Smith's verdict for Ernest, life had gone back to relatively normal. Then the nightmares began.

Though Maddie knew that scarecrows had been boys in costumes, she had woken from a nightmare a week later. They had continued nightly, hadn't been the kind where she had them, woke up, and forgot them. They had lingered, ominously, on her chest, making her feel ill. Always, there had been scarecrows, without boys inside, trying to reach her and get her, even make her one of them at times. At first, her parents had thought that it must be residual shock, but as it had continued, it had worsened. The dreams had started leaking into the daytime with hallucinations. The lifeless scarecrows in the fields had started making Maddie faint, or cry. When Maddie had refused to leave the house lest the scarecrows should "come after" her, Mr. and Mrs. Smith had decided it was time to move and contact a psychiatrist.

The Smiths had moved to London, which was miles away from their manor in the countryside, and had contacted a talented psychiatrist named Doctor Creevins. By the time he had scheduled his first appointment, Maddie had become physically ill with fear. He had assessed her condition and declared that, although Maddie had known the scarecrows from her original encounter were unreal, the terror from the event had caused severe trauma to her mind. Nightmares and fear were merely ways of expelling all the residual negative energy.

Maddie had spent seven years under the care of Doctor Creevins. He had taught her that her dreams were merely a figment of her imagination and that she had more control over then than she knew. That had been the turning point. Slowly, the dreams had become less frequent. Doctor Creevin's intervention had been a success.

As if in answer to Maddie's reverie, Doctor Creevins entered the parlor. His thick white beard and mustache brought attention to his hairless head. He dropped into the chair perpendicular to the sofa upon which Maddie was seated. He set his briefcase on the floor.

"I trust you are doing well?" he asked, leaning back and resting his elbows on the cushioned arms of the chair.

"Oh, yes." Maddie nodded. "All thanks to you."

"Don't be thanking me just yet," the man held up a hand as he set down his leather bag. "No dreams?"

"None."

"Well then, child," Creevins said. "I'd like to repeat the advice I gave to you some time ago. Dreams are only a figment of your imagination. You have more control over them than you know." He smiled and nodded, interlacing his fingers. "If you should ever need me, though I hope you will not, you know where to contact me."

"Thank you, Doctor."

"I wish you well on your journey." The doctor placed his velveteen top hat on his head as he left the house. He shook Maddie's father's hand and kissed mother's- who had both come to greet him. Maddie waited at the arched entry of the parlor. With a wink to Maddie, he slipped out the door and Maddie felt a rush of relief. She didn't need a psychiatrist anymore. With the help of Doctor Creevins, she had gone from terror-induced hermitism to being able to walk past one of _them_ with only a little discomfort.

"Are you ready to leave?" Maddie's mother asked, tying on her hat. Maddie stifled a gasp. She had forgotten to finish packing.

"Just about," Maddie replied, running back up the stairs. Her trunk was closed and ready to be locked, but Maddie felt like she should bring one more thing. She opened a small box on her bookshelf and pulled from it two dolls. One was a primitive representation of herself with yarn for hair and a light lavender dress. Since auburn wasn't really a color in yarn, they had used orange. The other doll was a scarecrow, exactly like the one in her nightmares. Once she had recovered somewhat, the doctor had had her use this doll in her games, and eventually had her sleep with it, though it usually ended up on the floor by midnight. Maddie stowed the dolls in her trunk and locked it in time for one of the servants to retrieve it and carry it down the stairs.

The front door clicked shut behind the family and Maddie followed her parents into the automobile. A light drizzle of rain turned the air around them gray and set a new, unwelcome, melancholy tone.

Across the street, a chimney sweep circled a large blue box. From this distance, Maddie couldn't make out the white words on the top, so she ignore it and accepted the chauffer's hand into the back seat of the car.

The chauffer climbed behind the wheel and another servant turned the crack to start of the engine. The automobile puttered to life and jolted forward, flinging Maddie and her family into the seat in front of them.

Maddie glanced back at the box as they pulled away, just in time to see a tall man in a long tan coat step from the double blue doors. They rounded the corner, and the man and his box were lost from view. Though he had been some distance away, Maddie could have sworn he had looked straight at her.

The bustle of the city died down as they left and headed into the more open country. The dismal streets of London merged and melted into the golden fields and thick trees of Maddie's childhood. The sky remained the same color as her dress, though the rain had slowed to a stop. Looking out the window, Maddie saw every scarecrow. Her eyes were somehow magnetically drawn to each and every one of the hideous, solitary figures. Now that she wasn't terrified of them anymore, Maddie found it almost comical when the large, back birds settled proudly on the arms of the frozen sentries and cawed their cackling song.

A flash of black at the window sent Maddie cowering into the seat until she realized it was just another crow come to investigate. There was a sharp pecking at the top of the roof before the black fowl sailed erratically away.

 **Roses are red  
Violets are blue  
I wrote this in hopes that  
You'd read and review**


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who**

Chapter 2

A clinking brought Michael Traines from his distant thoughts. He sighed. Gone were the visions of majestic courts. In their place was the dingy, raftered ceiling and the overwhelming stench of used socks. Michael took the empty glass from his nightstand and started tossing it in the air, catching it deftly with each throw.

He took the quiet opportunity to look around at his roommates. Oh, how they'd all changed. Thomas Smith, the awkward boy with thick orange hair, had grown into a dashing young man with sleek auburn locks. Though built more thickly than others, he wasn't fat. Geoffrey Market, once a scrawny, bright and cunning child, was now a serious and humorless man. An intimidating air hung around him. Trevor Cardon, however, had not changed in the year that he had been at school. He was still short and still gullible. Michael rolled his eyes, catching the glass in his palm.

Michael located the source of the sound that had removed him from his thoughts. Trevor was playing marbles. Ridiculous fool. He should know that, if he wanted to keep his games, he shouldn't reveal that he owned them. Sandwethers Academy was not as prim as it sounded. It was filled with thieves and bullies. Michael did not remove himself from this group, by any means. He was right in the middle of it.

"Cardon," Michael said, still tossing the glass, "sneak into the kitchen and get us a cake or so. And while you're there, see if you can't find us a bottle of wine."

"Yes, sir," Trevor started up from his game and hurried out of the room. If he got caught, he would get a whipping, but he was obviously less afraid of that than of his roommates. He knew now that if you messed with Michael, Geoffrey or Tom, you were asking for more trouble than it was worth. Heaven knew Michael and his roommates had worked to establish that reputation.

"Reckon he'll be able to find some?" Geoffrey inquired quietly from his bunk where he was reading from the latest newspaper. The paper crackled as he turned the pages and his voice had a negative edge to it, as it always did. He was never happy nowadays. He was never happy before, though, now that Michael thought of it. "With this new cut in budget, I doubt he'll get more than a quarter of a bun and still evade notice."

"He's got to be for something," Michael replied. "Can't write a paper worth a button. I'll sure miss that last little fellow. Whatever happened to him?"

"He went home with some sort of incurable disease," Geoffrey sighed, turning a page. "You're quiet today, Tom. What's going on in that head of yours?"

"Family's coming to visit as special guests of the headmaster," Tom replied.

"That doesn't happen every day," Geoffrey grunted, turning the page in time with his sentence.

"I'm surprised they could get Maddie out of the house, let alone all the way out here," Tom sighed, kicking the wastebasket next to the room's single desk.

"Maddie?" Michael asked, more out of boredom than actual curiosity. "Isn't that your sister? The little one in that photograph?" Michael nodded towards the frames picture, allowing the class cup to bounce across his mattress.

"From what I hear," Geoffrey said, still scanning the paper, "she's grown up. Eh, Tom? She's what? Sixteen?"

"You made it sound like she was ten this whole year," Michael complained, turning so his fist supported his head.

"She is off limits," Tom said crossly, chucking a wadded-up piece of paper at Michael, who caught it easily.

"Do you hear that?" Geoffrey asked, looking up and glancing towards the open window.

"Hear what?" Tom shrugged, and Geoffrey put a finger to his lips, setting down his paper and jumping from his bed.

"It's gone now," Geoffrey sighed, sticking his head out the window, "but I could have sworn I heard… a saw, right about the time the breeze picked up."

Michael raised an eyebrow. Maybe the school had finally done in Geoffrey's sanity. It often had that effect on the boys.

Trevor ran a hand through his thick hair, pushing it out of his eyes. He crept down the stairs and slipped through the open door to the kitchen. Luckily for him, the other boys that attended Sandwethers were out for the week, which meant that most were visiting the town nearby.

The cupboard creaked softly as Trevor pulled them open. There were the cakes and the wine bottles. He was sorely tempted to leave the food there and say that he was unable to find any. Oh, did he _hate_ his roommates with every fiber of his being. They were dishonest, discourteous cheats, but knowing that Michael would find out that he had lied later, Trevor snatched a single wine bottle and a single plate of cakes before sneaking out of the kitchen again.

"I have to leave," Geoffrey said, checking his watch and standing up. "I ought to be back soon. If Cardon returns with those pastries, save one for me." He left Tom and Michael alone.

"Market hasn't been himself lately," Michael confided to the distant Tom. "Do you think he's alright?"

"When you say 'himself,' do you mean the clever quips he used to send in our general direction?"

"Yes."

"Well," Tom sighed, "Market has been under a bit of stress. He is paying mostly for himself and money's tight. If we ignore it, maybe help him with a debt here or there, the problem will go away."

"Hope you're right."

Trevor reentered, a box under one arm and a bottle under another. He set these on the bed and continued his game of marbles. Michael realized that, in the flow of conversation, he had completely forgotten to steal and hide the game. For whatever reason, it didn't bother him as it would have a week or so ago. Maybe he was going soft.

They split the pastries and the wine, saving some for Geoffrey and enjoyed the food and drink in silence. Tom stood up and strode out the door. Michael, bewildered, followed.

"I'm going to wait in the parlor," Tom proclaimed as he descended the stairs.

"Might as well wait with you." Michael shrugged.

On the last landing, they ran into a maid, scrubbing the floor and singing softly. Tom liked bullying the servants, particularly maids like this one: she was enjoying herself. Michael had tried to limit his bullying to other boys as a rude action towards a maid might just land him with a burnt pair of stockings on an inspection. Tom had no such qualms.

The maid's skin was darker, like the natives in South America and Michael found her rather attractive. Tom barely acknowledged her existence until he was a number of paces past her. He rounded on the maid.

"Stop that infernal noise!" he exploded at the shocked servant who dropped her rag into the bucket of water with a splash. "And keep working, for heaven's sake."

The shaking girl obeyed, but Michael noticed there was a tearful glint to her eyes. She looked sad, hurt, and, for the first time in ages, Michael felt guilty. Really guilty. Not because of a possible burnt sock, but because of the tears hitting the floor. Tom had never managed to make one of the servants cry. This one must have been new.

They reached the parlor and sat down. Michael pointed out that they'd be waiting for another hour. Tom ignored him.

Geoffrey stuffed his hands in his pockets and scraped his feet along the road. Life had turned him on his head in the most unbelievable of circumstances. After his years of struggle and heartache, Geoffrey hated the world. He hated every person who bullied or was bullied. He despised the rich and had no love for the poor. If he had a family, he would hold them in disdain as well. The world was out to get him.

At ten-years-old, Geoffrey had lived in a trailer park in twenty-first century America. His dad was a drunk and his mom worked at bars for a living. His name had been spelled "Jeffery" then. He and his best friend had had aspirations of changing the world. Those dreams seemed so fleeting and petty now. "Jeff" and his friend had made useless invention after useless invention, but they never gave up. One invention, they found, had worked, though not in the way they had expected. In trying to develop a device for telepathy, they had built a time machine that had taken Jeff to the year 1903. Unable to return, Jeff decided he might as well move on. He had taken on the name Geoffrey, to match the time and tried to find a way to provide for himself. For years, he had been ill-treated and shunned. He had eventually made enough money to move to England and start his education at Sandwethers.

""Is it working yet, Donna?" Geoffrey looked up to see a tall man in a suit, funny red shoes, and a long coat walking with a red-headed woman in a purple dress.

"Screen's still blank," she said in a heavy cockney accent, shaking a small black box. Geoffrey ignored them and passed by.

"Have you fiddled with the psychic amperage dial?" the man asked.

"Don't see why we can't zip off to some place with diamonds for dirt."

These people spoke so strangely. Geoffrey hadn't heard some of that type of Jargon since… Geoffrey spun around. Both were gone, either around the corner or part of his imagination. He sighed and continued his brooding.

In his years alone, he had developed his sociopathic mindset. He hated the world and the world hated him. However, Geoffrey had also discovered that the time travel had also changed him. He could locate a source of fear, whom it emanated from, and, most impressively, he could bring those nightmares to life. Give the nameless fears of childhood embodiment to terrorize those who harmed him.

There was something that scared Geoffrey. There were times when he did things that he didn't understand but enjoyed.

A teacher across the yard shouted for him to get his lousy behind back indoors and that he should be studying. Geoffrey made up his mind.

He was going to make the world pay for the wrongs done do him. And he was going to use the most powerful weapon he could: nightmares and fears. Despite all the logical and steady things in the world, people still found fear in a mere image of the mind, played at night. The bravest men feared bad dreams, and what better ally was that which sent your enemy running and quailing at its mere mention or sight.

Geoffrey strode towards the puffing teacher and punched him in the jaw, dragging the unconscious man into the bushes. Closing his eyes, he poured his will into the teacher and felt it take hold.

 **Roses are red  
Violets are blue  
I wrote this in hopes that  
You'd read and review**


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who**

Chapter 3

The air was crisper out here in the country than in the city. Perhaps it was due to the fact that the houses were so much farther away from one another. Maddie shivered in her thin jacket as she hopped from the automobile. Patches of blue in the trees caught her attention, and she glance over to see a large blue box hidden in the foliage. The lantern on the top glinted in the noon-time light, and Maddie could read the first word on the panel above the door: Police.

"…us if you notice anything strange." The smiths rounded a corner in the walk to see a tall man in a tan coat and red shoes next to a read-head in a violet dress. "Thank you for your time," the man continued.

"Our pleasure, Doctor…?" the man in the school replied, tilting his head as he prolonged the word. "doctor".

"Smith. Doctor John Smith," the tall man finished hurriedly.

"And I'm Miss Noble," the woman added in a thick cockney accent. "Just for reference." They turned and strode down the front walk, passing Maddie and her family as they went. Doctor Smith caught Maddie's eye, and nodded respectfully.

"They're all noticing those ridiculous trainers," Maddie thought she heard the woman whisper, but the approaching teacher drove the thought from her mind.

"Welcome to Sandwethers," the teacher stated, grasping Father's hand in a firm handshake. He bowed to Maddie and her mother, and they nodded their greeting. "I am professor Credits. Your host and headmaster of this school. Please, come inside."

"John Smith? Really?" Donna huffed, slamming her hand down on the T.A.R.D.I.S. console. "What are we searching for?" Donna never knew what to expect when the Doctor was like this.

"The T.A.R.D.I.S. picked up a signal near Michigan in about 2008 and traced in back here." The doctor bent to study the screen, not looking at Donna. Donna rolled her eyes.

""What _kind_ of signal?" The doctor grabbed a mallet and struck a keyboard. The console spat sparks inches from Donna's hand, and Donna jumped back. "Oi!"

"Wha-? Sorry." The Doctor glanced up, large eyes not really seeing her. He strode past her and pulled down a lever, putting the T.A.R.D.I.S. into motion. The telltale _whoosh_ filled Donna's ears. "In 2008, someone built a time travel machine and it ripped into the time vortex. It spat them out around this time, give or take a decade."

"Why should we care?" Donna asked. The Doctor could get so worked up about this kind of stuff. She had to ask questions like this to get straight answers out of him.

"The damage done the time vortex would have altered the traveler. Just using a certified vortex manipulator is rough, but oh, this would have been catastrophic.

"We'll just have to stick around and find what it is, then," Donna sighed. SO much for that trip to a planet with diamond dirt.

The headmaster ushered Maddie and her family to the parlor. The whole building gave Maddie the willies. In comparison to the vibrant colors of her home, the school's browns, blacks and burgundies had a morose, serious appearance. The dusty floor creaked beneath her boots and Maddie held back a cry when she saw something skitter across the floor. Automatically, her foot lifted several inches into the air to avoid whatever it was. _Nasty place,_ she thought. They left their luggage in a corner to be dealt with later, and Tom ran up to greet all of them.

"How is everyone?" he asked delightedly as he embraced his parents and crushed Maddie in a bear hug. She felt slightly winded when he let go. "What about the nightmares?" he whispered in Maddie's ear.

"Not one in thirty-five days," she whispered back. "I think I'm cured."

"I have a few friends I'd like you to meet," Tom said, grinning widely. "This is Michael Traines, my _best_ friend." A young man with dark hair that hung in his eyes stood up and walked over. He shook father's hand and bowed to Maddie and her mother.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Traines," Maddie piped in first. Since she had hardly left the house these past nine years, she wanted to act like a normal girl her age. She might as well start by being civil to her brother's friend.

"Now, I'm not sure where our chap, Geoffrey ran off to, but he ought to turn up by suppertime," Tom added, peering out a window.

"Whoa," Geoffrey whispered, pausing at the parlor entrance, out of sight. He could feel something washing out from the small doorway, poisoned by suppression: Fear. Geoffrey entered the parlor, all charm and business, like he had trained himself.

"Hey, there. Speak of the devil!" Tom exclaimed with a grin, spotting Geoffrey. He stood, and the other people in the room turned to look at the new arrival.

"Thomas," the girl hissed, narrowing her eyes at Tom. "That's not a polite-" The older woman's hand on the girl's shoulder cut her reprimand short.

"This is my friend, Geoffrey Market, "Tom said, waving Geoffrey over. "Geoffrey, these are my parent and my sister, Maddie.

"Mr. Smith. Mrs. Smith. Miss Smith." Geoffrey nodded to each of them in turn before taking a seat next to Michael.

"Now, where was I?" Tom asked, dropping back onto his chair.

"You were elaborating on your many exploits fighting the _many_ trials in the woods behind the school," Michael said in a deadpan. Geoffrey saw Maddie's hand go up to cover her mouth, and her eyes twinkle. The level of suppressed fear dropped, removing the warmth in Geoffrey's gut. Was she what _it_ was coming from?

" _I'm surprised they could even get her out of the house,"_ Tom had said. Was this what he had meant? With this level of suppression, she must have had a phenomenal psychiatrist.

 **Roses are red  
Violets are blue  
I wrote this in hopes that  
You'd read and review**


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who**

Chapter 4

The conversation died down and everyone gradually trickled into the next room for supper. Michael managed to move closer to Maddie as they passed through the doorway. He had guessed she was pretty, but her friendly, awkward charm topped it off.

"Is Tom always this exuberant?" Maddie whispered to Michael, saving him fro a potentially bad conversation starter.

"Generally, yes," Michael answered as he pulled out a chair for Maddie. "Helps offset Geoffrey's perpetual foul mood." Upon hearing his name, Geoffrey turned his head and gave Michael a quizzical glance. "Nothing," Michael mouthed as soon as Maddie looked away.

As he began to pull out a chair for himself, Michael caught Tom's murderous look and released it. Remembering Tom's "off limits" warning, Michael took a seat nearby the headmaster and Geoffrey.

"Well," Geoffrey muttered to Michael as the headmaster said grace. "Now we know it pays to be friends with the upper class. I have _never_ seen this dining room before." The blessing ended, and Tom started up in one of his exaggerated stories. "How about you invite your family next month."

Michael grimaced. Most of the boys were forced to eat outdoors, rich or not, rain, shine, or snow. But his family would never come if her could help it, even if it meant never eating this posh food and sitting at the mahogany table again. Being the youngest (and only) son of a blind, widowed mother had some merits, but she held him to impossible standards while doting on her daughters. And since she held ownership of his inheritance until he reached the age of twenty-one, he had to do whatever she wanted him to.

"Michael, Chap!" Tom exclaimed, drawing Michael's attention back to the dinner table. "What on earth is that expression for?"

"Tickle in my throat," Michael covered with an arrogant smile. "Nothing more."

Maddie prepared to head up to the North Wing guest bedrooms with her family, but she lingered to watch tom and Michael climb the opposite stairwell. Geoffrey had excused himself earlier than the others.

When the two boys reached the first landing, Tom stopped while Michael continued up. Maddie shifted to see what had delayed her brother. It was a young maid, crouched over a bucket and scrub brush.

The servant, Maddie thought, was beautiful. She had lovely, dark skin and thick, shiny black hair. As she scrubbed, she hummed a hymn.

Tom stepped up, smirking. "You, maid."

"Yes, sir?" she said, looking up momentarily before returning to her work. Maddie could've sworn she saw the maid roll her beautiful brown eyes. Michael stopped his ascent, and Maddie saw his shoulders drop.

"When you're checking to see if the floor is clean," Tom continued, "is it had for you to tell since your skin is the same color as the dirt?"

The maid flinched and frowned, but ignored them. She started humming again, though the tune was more forced. Tom chuckled and jogged up to Michael. Maddie stood frozen. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. Her own brother. Not letting the indignant tears well up in her eyes, Maddie reached down and picked up her bag, that she had dropped.

Maddie climbed up to the maid and sat down next to where she was working. She pulled out a handkerchief and held it out to the tearful girl.

"What's your name?" Maddie asked when the servant glanced up.

"I'm Christine, Miss," the servant replied, scrubbing harder than ever.

"I'm Maddie," Maddie said quietly. "Take this. Wipe your eyes."

"Yes, Miss," Christine replied, not looking at Maddie as she took the handkerchief.

Maddie turned around and took off for the other stairway, bee-lining for the first open door she saw. Someone had put her trunk at the foot of her bed and folded down the porridge-colored quilt.

Door closed and locked against intruders, Maddie undid her trunk and changed into her nightgown. Rather than go to bed immediately, she pulled out her dolls. Being sixteen, he was much too old to be playing with such childish toys, but she felt like taking them out. Before she knew it, she was creating a conversation between the two silent playthings. The doll that resembled Maddie was a psychiatrist and the scarecrow was one of her patients.

Since it was childish and embarrassing to still be playing with dolls, Maddie whispered the conversation between the two toys. She hoped no one decided to take an evening stroll through the corridors as the door was awfully thin.

"Hello, sir," Maddie said in her normal whisper, shaking the doll and making it take the scarecrow's hand. "How can I help you?"

"Hello, Doctor Maddie," Maddie whispered, using a more gravelly voice to imitate what she had thought scarecrows might sound like. "I could sure use your help. I'm afraid of little girls with auburn hair and green eyes, like you!"

"But I' not a little girl, anymore," doll Maddie protested.

"Oh, you're right," the scarecrow admitted.

Maddie's eyes bean to droop and her movements with the toys became more sluggish. She stopped making the voices. Reluctantly, she replaced the playthings in her trunk and climbed into bed where she fell into another dreamless sleep.

Geoffrey had made it to their room first, and he sat on his bed, reading until the others arrived. Trevor slouched in and dropped off as soon as he hit the mattress, although he was fully clothed. Michael and Tom entered some ten minutes later. Michael immediately started taking off his coat and dropped onto his bunk where he proceeded to remove his shoes. Tom stayed standing, pacing, bursting with an energy that made Geoffrey feel sick. He loved fear, but he couldn't stand excitement. It was a too happy and out of place feeling in a world of cruelty and sadness.

Michael swung his legs onto his bed and started humming. That was interesting. The excitement radiating off of him was just as disgusting and sappy. Geoffrey had encountered that feeling before. What was it again? Oh, yes. Michael was in love. The odd thing was that it wasn't like his normal fancies. This reeked of infatuation. The sensation died down and Michael fell asleep.

Tom yawned and took off his cost and shoes. Running a hand through his auburn hair, he stretched across the bed and his breathing deepened.

Geoffrey removed his jacket and shoes but continued to sit up in bed. He took the glass from Michael's nightstand and started tossing it. He didn't do it as deftly as Michael, but he didn't drop it either. The cold glass felt good in his callused hands. Even now, that overwhelming, ipossible fear reached out to him from across the school.

Geoffrey couldn't sleep. His heart was pounding and he felt his first real excitement in over seven years. He blew out all but one candle then continued to toss the glass in the air until his own light went out. Once the room was plunged into darkness, Geoffrey slid underneath the covers, but remained awake until morning.

 **Roses are red  
Violets are blue  
I wrote this in hopes that  
You'd read and review**


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who**

Chapter 5

Maddie awoke the following morning feeling refreshed. Yet another dreamless night had passed. She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Sunlight streamed in through the thin curtains and Maddie stood up to stretch. The radiance reflected off her mirror and danced across the floor, illuminating her trunk. What did one do at a school? Certainly the family would not be placed in a classroom with the students here. No, that couldn't be right. The boys practically had the week off. _Silly idea,_ she thought with a smile.

Recovering, Maddie returned to her trunk and dressed in a simple blue dress. She laced up her boots and sat on the floor. Glancing at the clock and deciding she had time before breakfast, she pulled her dolls from the luggage and examined them. The scarecrow never seemed as scary in broad daylight as it did when it was attacking in the middle of the night. The siz might have also had something to do with it.

Now that she had a quiet moment to think, without a psychiatrist at her elbow, being in a great hurry or having her parents fuss over her. Maddie realized even further jut how silly her fears were. Logic was clearly against it. Scarecrows couldn't come alive and, even if they could, they were only cloth and hay. They didn't have muscle. But, despite all these logics comfortingly playing through her head, the darkest corner of Maddie's thoughts, the corner where she had hidden all her fear, nagged at her _._

A heavy knock on her door brought Maddie from her internal battle and she quickly and frantically stowed the dolls in her trunk. She slammed the lid closed, standing up in the process and running to the door to unlock and open it. She peeked around the wood to see Tom. She sighed in relief and opened the door further. It made her both happy and sad that it wasn't Michael.

"I'm going into town," he said with a smile. "You want to come with?"

"Town sounds lovely," Maddie replied, opening the door fully. "When?"

"Twenty minutes."

"I'll be ready." Maddie shut the door and brushed her hair, tying it half back with a ribbon. Maddie stopped short, freezing when her hands had reached her sides. She had nearly forgotten Tom's cruelty. Did she want to spend the day with him when she knew how he treated people?

"I could always corner and reprimand him," Maddie muttered

In twenty minutes, Maddie was waiting in the parlor. Her parents slipped into the front entryway. When they saw her, they halted.

"You're up?" her mother asked in surprise.

"Yes," Maddie replied, suspicious. "Where are you going?"

"Your father has urgent business in Bristol," she answered. "We only found out last night."

"Can't I come with?" Maddie inquired. He stomach churned at the thought of being left here alone, in the care of her brother towards whom she now had less than friendly feelings for.

"We promised Tom that he could spend time with you," Maddie's father said quickly and he started to drag his wife down the stair and out the door. "We'll see you soon."

Maddie watched hopelessly as her parents entered the automobile and their trunks were reloaded into the back.

Michael stuck a pencil in his mouth, contemplating his arithmetic studies. He could have sword the problems had made sense to him the day before, but they were just a jumble of numbers, now.

Trevor ran in at that moment, a roll half stuffed in his face. He reached under his bed and dragged out a box from which he extracted a tie and a pocket handkerchief.

"What are you doing?" Michael asked, wanting to sound mean, but not really caring what Trevor was up to.

"Artillery practice," Trevor panted without looking up.

"I thought we didn't have school this week."

"It's not really school. You're expected in about an hour."

Once Trevor was out of the room, Michael threw his pen on the desk and leaned his head back, until it was at a terribly uncomfortable angle. He glared at the ceiling. Bullying Trevor had lost its fun. Now what?

Geoffrey sat in Professor Grant's chair, feet resting on the desk. He needed a way to get the details of Maddie's fear, and the only way her could conceive doing that would be to catch her when she was asleep. How to do that without causing a row?

"Do you have any input, Grant?" Geoffrey asked the dazed teacher. "You're a professor. You ought to know _something_."

"I have a key," Grant said in a monotone voice. "Have… key… have… key…"

"A key!" Geoffrey sat up, placing his feet on the floor and leaning forward. "Maybe you're not an idiot after all. Give it to me."

The old man held out a key and Geoffrey snatched it from him. It would work on the windows, not the door, but who cared. It was a way in. He stood up and started pacing. He would have to wait until late tonight, and he'd have to come up with an excuse.

What would be logical? Wine? Yes. Cakes? Yes. That would mean he'd have to go into town today, use some of his precious pocket money, but it would be worth it.

Maddie followed Tom as he strolled down the street. It had been a half-hour walk to the town, and Maddie had yet to find a way to bring up yesterday's incident.

It was a quieter day and there was a good autumn breeze picking up leaves. Soft carnival music reached them from the other side of town and the two headed toward it, passing an ice cream parlor, a barber shop, a blue box, and a general store.

"Wait a minute." Maddie stopped Tom, backing up to stare at the _Police Public Call Box._ "This is the third one I've seen. Has Scotland Yard started something new?"

Tom stepped up to the double doors and shook them.

"Locked," he stated, dusting his hands on his trousers. "Let's go. After some more walking, they reached the striped fence of the carnival.

"I'm not so sure I want to go in there now," Maddie said in a hoarse whisper. Unbidden flashes of scarecrows reaching out to her were dancing across her mind. She reached down and took Tom's hand. Her heart was pounding, though she couldn't see anything past the first few innocent booths.

"We don't have to," Tom said comfortingly in her ear. "If it makes you uncomfortable, we can go home."

"But that's the point of the fair," said a high, nasal voice. Maddie spun around and shrieked. There was a scarecrow and it had moved. It stood up and strode toward them. The illogical part of Maddie's mind began whispering to her about how it was going to get her and make her one of them. He head began to spin and her knees buckled.

"Maddie!" Tom caught Maddie as she fell and supported her. He glared at the scarecrow who leered back. "Take off that mask."

The scarecrow pulled the sack from its head to reveal an old man with a bristly mustache and an eye patch. His nose twitched as he gazed at the pair.

"You idiot!" Tom shouted at the man. "Let's go home, Maddie," he said softly to Maddie as he helped her to her feet and aided her in turning around. Maddie clung to her brother's arm, sighing in relief. Scarecrows couldn't walk by themselves. Despite the fright, Maddie began to laugh. She had been ridiculous.

"No, I think I want to go in," Maddie protested, tugging on Tom's arm. "It might be fun."

"But they'll have more scarecrows," Tom warned. "And who knows what else."

"I'll know that the scarecrows are fake," Maddie laughed. "Besides, Doctor Creevins told me that the best way to keep my fears at bay is to face them and laugh at them. Let's go in." Maddie didn't really want to go, but she didn't want everyone to fuss either.

"Alright," Tom said hesitantly. "How much to get in?" he asked the man at the entrance, who was pulling on his scarecrow mask.

"For you," he grunted, settling back onto a number of hay bales, "it could be free. Head on in, no charge."

Tom tipped his hat to the man and he entered with Maddie. The eerie music washed over them as they entered. There was a foul smell of burning popcorn and animal refuse and Maddie inched closer to Tom.

Bearded women and eight-foot-tall men beckoned to passersby and clowns jumped out in front of others from obscure corners. Dancers on stilts, wearing vibrant orange, purple and red costumes, wobbled among the crowd. Tom cut through the throng and the burst through the flaps of a tent. It was a magic show. Maddie collapsed on one of the benches in the back row as they watched a bald man with a thick black mustache and a midnight blue cape dotted with stars and moons make his assistant disappear, float in the air and turn into a cat.

Once the clumps of people had thinned outside, Tom led Maddie from the tent and they continued through the fair. Maddie tripped and turned to try and rejoin Tom, but he was gone. She was alone amid a crushing mass of people. She fought her way to the edge of the mass and cowered at the corner of a tent. Tom was gone and the masks that had once looked silly now took on a satanic appearance. The clowns that made everyone else laugh appeared unnerving to Maddie.

She closed her eyes, calming herself. When Maddie opened them, a circular blue light accompanied by a shrill sound blinded her.

"Ow!" she exclaimed, throwing up a hand to cover her eyes.

"She's not the one," a familiar voice sighed. The noise stopped, and Maddie dropped her arm to see Doctor John Smith and Miss Noble looking down at a silver tube.

"Doctor, you don't just go and sonic people," Miss Noble said, bobbing her head from side to side and looking towards heaven. She turned her gaze back to Maddie. "Sorry, Dear. The Doctor goes all Martian on people. Don't be bothered by us.

"Donna," Doctor Smith said, nodding to the left while still looking at the cylinder.

"Have a nice day," Donna added, following Doctor Smith around the corner. Unable to help herself, Maddie followed, lingering just out of sight.

"I can't believe it wasn't her," Doctor Smith grumbled, stowing the tube in his pocket and pivoting slowly as he looked heavenward. "I thought for sure since she always turned up just after the T.A.R.D.I.S. landed, it might be her emitting the signal."

"Maybe the sonic's lost its touch," Miss Noble interjected. "Or maybe the T.A.R.D.I.S. is just getting old."

"Nah. That can't be it." Doctor Smith picked up his long tan coat, sliding his arms into the sleeves. "But why that girl's timeline, unless…" he stopped and sprinted down the alley.

"Doctor?" Miss Noble exclaimed. "Doctor!" She sprinted after him, panting.

"Are you alright, Miss?" someone asked from a few feet away. There was something familiar about that voice. It sounded similar to how it had sounded nine years ago, albeit a little older. Maddie looked around. A young man with thick black hair stood behind her. His nose was the same, but his eyebrows were bushier. He was a lot taller, but that was to be expected. Maddie decided to make sure it was him. Could it be, though?

"Ernie, is that you?" she asked carefully and quietly.

"Madeline?"

"I told you to call me Maddie." She began to laugh. Ernest hurriedly helped her to her feet. "I don't even remember how many times." He held out a hand, but she ignored it, puliing him into a hug. "Oh, I've missed you."

"Whoa. Hallo." Ernest tugged away, smiling awkwardly. "I've missed you too."

"Nine years."

"Maddie!" Tom ran toward them and pulled Maddie into an embrace. "Where were you?"

"We got separated and I just stayed here," Maddie soothed. She didn't enjoy people fussing over her, so she wasn't going to share many details. Shooting a look to Ernest to tell him to remain quiet, she continued, "But look who I found. It's Ernie."

"Ernest Crate." Tom extended his hand coldly. "It's been a long time. I believe last time I saw you was right before you made sure my sister had to go through seven years of psychiatric therapy."

"Stop it, Tom!" Maddie berated, seeing Ernest's eyes widen guiltily. "I've forgiven him, and it happened to me. You can forgive him too."

"You may not remember it, but I can still hear you screaming in my head." Tom put an arm around Maddie and tried to turn her around.

Maddie yanked her arm from Tom's grip and rounded on him. "Don't talk to me about how to treat people. I saw last night. I talked to the maid." Maddie turned to Ernest. "Ernie," she said sweetly, "you will always be my best friend. I forgive you entirely."

With that, Maddie turned tail and marched through the carnival, Tom following behind her bewildered. They went home in tense silence.

"Doctor," Donna panted, catching up to the Doctor as he unlocked the T.A.R.D.I.S. and slipped inside. "What is going on?"

"We were following the signal, but must have locked onto her timeline," the Doctor replied, putting the screwdriver into a hole in the console. Images flashed across the T.A.R.D.I.S. screen, some of the numbers blocked by yellow sticky notes with strange symbols. "Maybe she's not the traveler, but the energy source."

"Energy source?"

"Travelling through the Time Vortex that unprotected would have forced the Traveler to take on another energy source," the Doctor explained, pumping a lever until the T.A.R.D.I.S. hummed to life and shook. "Something has been feeding off that girl's fear. The epinephrine count was skewed. If we can trace where all that lost epinephrine has gone, we'll find our Traveler."

"Epinephrine?" Donna asked, stumbling as the T.A.R.D.I.S. jostled. "Speak English."

"Epinephrine is the chemical humans put off when they're scared or angry. Some organisms can feed off of it. Hold tight!"

 **Roses are red  
Violets are blue  
I wrote this in hopes that  
You'd read and review**


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who**

Chapter 6

Rapid bangs greeted the siblings' return to Sandwethers. Maddie jumped and clung to Tom. He hadn't talked much on the way home and when he tried, Maddie ignored him. Tom left her standing there, fuming slightly and eyebrows twitching.

Maddie followed Tom to the source of the sound was and found a number of students behind rifles. Tom had rejoined his friends. Michael glanced over at Maddie and the corners of his mouth twitched up. Geoffrey ignored her presence as he lifted a gun and shot, with alarming accuracy, the dummies across the yard.

There was a tug on her sleeve and Maddie looked down to see a boy with sandy hair. He was scrawny and had the look of someone who had been bullied. He couldn't be more than twelve. His hair fell messily around his ears and there was a gap between his two front teeth.

"What's your name?" Maddie asked. She found this boy charming.

"I'm Trevor Cardon," the child replied. "You're Smith's sister, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. How do you know him?"

"I share a room with him and his friends."

Maddie had to resist cringing. Seeing the way the young men had treated Christine, she feared that they must have mistreated this young boy as well. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Cardon."

Trevor sprinted away from Maddie. This was the first time he had seen her and she was absolutely beautiful. Previously, Trevor had had not interest whatsoever in girls, but Maddie had piqued it. Her eyes were so kind and gentle. They were accepting and refreshing, especially compared with her brother's and his friends.

He returned to the range and stationed himself behind an unmanned gun. The artillery was heavy and he found it difficult to maneuver. His mind wandered to Maddie again and the weapon sagged.

"Pay attention, worm," Tom strode up behind him and smacked him upside the head. His hair swung into his eyes as his head shot forward. Expecting to see Michael behind Tom, Trevor turned to glare, but found Michael still at his rifle.

"Trouble, Tom?" Professor Vendren asked as he ambled nearer, clipboard in hand.

"Permission to beat this useless lump for not paying attention?" Tom seized Trevor by the back of the collar.

"Granted." The professor did not look up from his clipboard, but rather continued walking, occasionally chatting with the other young men as they loaded and fired their guns.

Tom dragged Trevor from the artillery and kicked him hard in the stomach. The wind rushed from Trevor's lungs as he curled in pain. He could not draw breath and his head spun. Trevor could see Tom's feet retreating back to his gun. As Trevor's vision cleared, he could see that Maddie was long gone, so there would be no pity or justice from her. He climbed slowly to his feet, gut still aching. Geoffrey was cleaning and putting away his gun, and Trevor decided to do the same.

Michael watched the entirety of the interchange between Trevor and Maddie, as well as Tom kick Trevor. Usually, he would have been right there beside him, but the idea repulsed him now.

Something was happening to Michael, and he could not explain it. It scared, exhilarated, and intrigued him. What had changed?

Nightfall took an excruciatingly long time to come. Today had been artillery practice, and Geoffrey had never enjoyed the recoil and loud noise that the guns emitted.

It had been a less than pleasant day for everyone. Michael and Tom were best friends and Tom had been out of town, Tom had come back from town quiet and grumpy, as had Maddie, and Geoffrey was not patient, so having to wait was difficult.

Michael began tossing his glass and catching it. He still had a lovesick look in his eyes and the sappy feeling that came off him was revolting. Tom sat at his desk, head in his hands when he started mumbling harshly.

"She's forgiven him? Why has she forgiven him? He practically ruined her life."

He continued grumbling for another hour before he started to nod off. Geoffrey glanced at the clock. It was near midnight. His chance was now or never.

"Does anyone fancy a wine?" he asked his roommates. "I fancy one."

"Can't," moaned Michael, jerking his head toward the sleeping Trevor. "Our friend is out of commission."

"I have a stash a few miles away," Geoffrey said as calmly as he could. "It will take me an hour at most to get it. I also have cakes."

"Since when have you had a private store?" Michael asked, sitting up and setting down his glass.

"I'll take that as a 'yes, I would like some, Geoffrey, thank you,'" Geoffrey got up and unlatched the window. Not waiting for any further answer, he swung his legs over the windowsill and climbed down the wall. Tom and Michael both came to the window to watch his descent. Once he reached the bottom, he headed toward a patch of woods that surrounded half of the yard. The thick trees and twigs scraped across his face and caught in his mop of uncombed hair. Navy sky, peppered with diamond stars, peeped through the branches and the hardened leaves beneath his feet crunched revealingly.

The wine and cakes themselves would not have taken more than about five minutes to get as he had left them inconspicuously in the shrubbery beneath Maddie's window. They were only an excuse to be gone an hour so he could discover the details he needed to animate the nightmares.

"Ah! It cut out again!" Geoffrey paused as a voice carried through the night. A figure appeared: the tall man from earlier, still accompanied by the red-head.

"Have you tried turning it off and turning it back on?" the woman asked, putting her hands on her hips and wobbling her head side to side as she spoke.

"Yes," the man said, shaking the black box in his hand. "We'll have to plug it back into the T.A.R.D.I.S. mainframe. Come on, Donna." They turned back the way they had come, adding crunching branches to the cacophony of crickets. Geoffrey headed back towards the school.

Once out of sight of his bedroom window, Geoffrey returned from the woods and strode up to the side of the building with Maddie's bedroom window. It was well past eleven forty-five, so he did not expect to be seen by anyone. He removed the box of goods from the bushes and set them on the lawn. With little effort, he scaled the pockmarked wall and reached Maddie's window on the third story. Geoffrey chanced to look down. He was at a dizzying height. It would be an embarrassing death if he should fall and be found beneath Maddie's window.

Shooing the morbid image out of his mind, Geoffrey pulled the key to the window from his breast pocket and strained to look beyond the thin curtain. The moon was full and bright, so he could easily see into Maddie's bed. She was fast asleep. Geoffrey unlocked the pane and pushed the glass in. He silently lowered himself into the bedroom and took a seat on the chair next to the opening. Curtains parted, Maddie was now bathed in silver moonlight and Geoffrey could see maybe why Michael liked her. She turned in her sleep and he decided he should get on with what he came here to do.

Closing his eyes, Geoffrey sharpened his senses to detect the fear that he had discovered the night before. It was easy to find. In a state of slumber, the wall between peace and nightmare was delicate, but was there nonetheless. Geoffrey found his consciousness on a grassy and beautiful plain. There was a swirling blue sky, like a Van Gogh painting, and the flowers moved, though there was no wind. There was one other living person here, but Maddie's back was turned to Geoffrey and she looked entranced by an image playing across a portion of the sky. It was a dream, but Geoffrey doubted that she would remember it, weak as it was.

Geoffrey turned around to find himself face to face with an enormous black box. He ran his fingers over it and smiled. This was the delicate wall between Maddie and her deep-set fear. It was smooth where he touched it, but cracks spider-webbed across the ebony surface as he tapped it.

Had Maddie been awake, the prison would have been impregnable. The thoughts binding away the fear were powerful. Tom had been right. But what was she afraid of? Geoffrey exited her mind and turned instinctively t open Maddie's trunk. Inside, resting atop the clothes, were a doll with orange hair, and a small stuffed scarecrow. So, that was it.

Reentering Maddie's consciousness, Geoffrey pondered at how deftly the wall had been put up. It wouldn't be enough to stop him. Dreams were a weakened state of consciousness. When in such a state, one was easily influenced by illogical monsters and insane ideas. It was a time when the walls of reality were thin.

Geoffrey caressed the black box before smashing his fist into its walls. The spider webs danced across the whole compartment and Geoffrey stepped back in anticipation as the box shattered and the pieces melted. A cloud of grey and fear swirled in place, as if unsure of what to do next. It shot outward, washing over Geoffrey and filling the plain. Scarecrows began to crop up around him and they all surged toward Maddie, invading the pictured dancing across the sky and surrounding her.

The world around Maddie exploded. She didn't know how she had gotten into the barn, or why she was there. Scarecrows began climbing from boxes and closets and marching toward her. When she pulled off the head of one, there was no one inside. She immediately knew then that they were coming to get her and make her one of them, to guard fields for an eternity.

She tried to run, but the world tipped and swirled sickeningly around her. There were arms reaching. Reaching. Always reaching. She tried to call for help, knowing someone would save her, but she had no voice. The rough sackcloth arms surrounded her and lifted her from the ground. Though these monsters had no muscles, they were strong and it was impossible to break their grip one they had gotten hold. A horrible, sick fear settled on her chest as they dragged her from the barn and to a field.

Maddie saw the post where she would spend the rest of eternity and tried to fight. Her body wouldn't move. The leering, disproportionate figures forced her into sackcloth like theirs and stuffed the sleeves full of hay. She began crying when they pulled the sack over her head. The scarecrows lifted her easily off the ground and they held her to the post as another monster neared with a length of rope.

"There it goes, Donna!" The Doctor shouted as the black box lit up. He pulled down a lever and pounded the T.A.R.D.I.S. console with a rubber mallet. "Let's see where the energy surge leads us."

This felt wonderful. Geoffrey had enjoyed the buried fear in the parlor, but this, this was a feast. The sky screamed; the grass shrunk back; the flowers wilted. He had not felt fear this strong in all his time and he loved it. But his job was finished. Michael and Tom would be expecting him and he could not be late lest he appear suspicious.

Geoffrey pulled himself reluctantly from the suffering mind, returned to that of a terrified seven-year-old. He had seen everything: the certainty that the scarecrows wanted to turn her into one of them, the years of being forced to play with dolls and draw picture of that which she most feared.

Maddie was tossing on the bed and shaking. Tears were leaking from her closed eyes and sweat was appearing in bead on her forehead. She cried out softly and Geoffrey willed her not to scream, willed her mental voice to be removed. Her lips parted in a silent shout of terror and Geoffrey backed toward the window.

He closed and locked the pane as he clambered down. As he dropped to the ground, the same saw-like noise he had heard earlier filled his ears and blue light pulsated behind Maddie's window. Taking hold of the box of edibles, Geoffrey checked his pocket watch by the light of the moon. It had been half an hour. He couldn't be much longer. He returned to the woods and circled the house.

"We missed it," the Doctor sighed, closing his eyes and placing a hand on the trembling girl's forehead. Her shaking stopped, but she still looked distressed.

"What's wrong with her?" Donna demanded, stroking the auburn hair. It was so soft.

"Something broke down her suppression walls," the Doctor said, reentering the T.A.R.D.I.S.. Donna followed. The T.A.R.D.I.S. hummed to life again. "If someone overcame a fear, the food supply for our traveler would be gone, but when someone suppressed a fear, it _poisons_ the supply. The traveler just purified the poisoning. With that much power, who knows what else he could do?"

Michael stared at the ceiling. The springs in his bed pushed annoyingly against his back, constantly prodding him back into reality. He glanced over at Tom, who had maintained a sour expression since he had com home from his trip with Maddie.

"How was your trip into town?" Michael asked warily, knowing that Tom could explode any moment.

"Why?" Tom paced across the floor, the board creaking beneath his weight. Trevor's snores pierced the silence.

"I was merely curious." Michael backed out of the impending argument.

"Keep away from Maddie," Tom quipped flatly. He continued his long, even strides.

"What do you mea-"

"I've seen the way you act around her," Tom replied, barely waiting for Michael to finish. "Keep away."

"What makes you think I have any intere-"

"You've changed a lot over the past few days," Tom raged. "Don't think I don't recognize that you like my sister. If you know what's good for you, back off."

Michael closed his mouth, hoping that closing his side of the argument would stem the flow of Tom's. It worked and they sat in awkward silence until Geoffrey returned.

 **Roses are red  
Violets are blue  
I wrote this in hopes that  
You'd read and review**


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who**

Chapter 7

Maddie's head pounded at breakfast. She had woken up that morning from her worst nightmare in three years. There went the hope of being normal again. But, it was just a dream, nothing to be afraid of, or was it? Her head was still a tempest and the wall she had used to hold back all her fears had completely disappeared. Maddie felt ashamed. She was a logical young woman who was calm and not afraid of childish bad dreams.

Feeling foolish, Maddie returned to her room after the meal and retrieved her dolls from her trunk. She nearly dropped her scarecrow in a fit of inexcusable terror. An image of one much larger, reaching towards her, flashed across her mind and Maddie staggered and dropped to the floor. What was happening to her? Were all those years of therapy for nothing? The ragged toy leered up at her from the floor and Maddie crawled onto the bed, clutching the miniature version of herself to her chest. She was afraid that the harmless plaything would grow and take her away to become one of them.

 _They're going to find me,_ Maddie thought, shaking head to foot and backing herself up against the wall at the opposite end of her bed. _They're going to find me and catch me, with their reaching arms and their scratching hay. They'll catch me and take me away to be one of them. A scarecrow bride, watching over the fields for eter…_

With a frown, Maddie slapped herself, hard. Her cheek stung and tears welled up in her eyes, but the small doll didn't frighten her anymore. _Maddie,_ she said to herself, _scarecrows can't move. It was just a nightmare. You are brave and don't believe in magic. You're safe._

That evening, the nightmares returned. Now she was in the school yard, running, but tripping because of the numerous branches catching at her churning legs, tearing her dress.

The scarecrows closed around her in droves, and she fell, helpless, on her back. The reaching arms scratched across her face and wrapped around her, lifting her from the ground and carrying her away. Now she could see others and she tried to call for help, but nothing came out but a strangled whisper of a cry. Michael stood there, doing nothing and letting her be carried away. Maddie felt oddly betrayed.

Once again, the scarecrows took her to a field where she now met her monster groom. She had never before had that, but he watched witch empty eyes as she was dressed in the flannel and sackcloth and lifted onto the post. The cruel creature stepped forward and ran its straw across Maddie's face. She flinched and knew she would be there for the rest of eternity, guarding the fields without any effect, the crows laughing at her.

Geoffrey had told his roommates he was spending the night out. Hopefully they suspected that he had fallen in love at last and was spending time with whoever it was. He had tried to lead them to think that, especially since he now had his army, if only in thought so far.

The thick fumes from the candles helped clear Geoffrey's head as he paced, formulating his plans and piecing together the missing bits of Maddie's fears.

To allow the scarecrows to retain their physical shape, both he and Maddie needed to remain alive. Geoffrey decided to make them do what they always did to Maddie: make her one of them. The stronger her fear, the stronger the scarecrows. And the more powerful he felt.

As to the rest of the world, Geoffrey would have the monsters kill relentlessly. Maddie's young mind had created a perfect soldier. They were strong and could not die. To be most successful in his plots he would have to dress as a scarecrow and become one of them: guiltless. They would be more susceptible to his control if he were similar to them.

With the design in his mind, Geoffrey took a seat on an ancient rocking chair. The old wood was uncomfortable to sit on, but Geoffrey took no notice. He closed his eyes and delved into Maddie's mind, over a mile away. When he had broken the wall between Maddie and her fears, he had established a connection between her subconscious brain and his conscious one.

That was interesting. There was something new. _Silly girl,_ Geoffrey thought upon seeing the scarecrow groom. It was a charming idea… perhaps he should implement it. No, he would have time for that later.

Scarecrows bloomed from splotches of color in his mind's eye, hideous, ragged and frightening to even him now. Geoffrey implanted the pictures in his sight and looked around the ramshackle hut. The images that he had forced to remain began to solidify. The yellow straw jutting from the ends of their arms scratched against whatever they touched. Geoffrey took the opportunity to admire his handiwork.

The monster leered at him through empty holes for eyes and a crudely stitched mouth. Its face was a rough sack, tied with twine around the bottom to make a head and neck. The creature was clothed in an aged checkered shirt and heavy trousers with holes in the knees. Hay stuck out from these holes, around the waist, from spots on the throat and from the ends of the sleeves. Ratty old shoes served as its feet, though they should have fallen off when the hideous nightmare took a step.

There were only these few scarecrows inside the shack, and Geoffrey needed ever so many more to create and army. He stood up abruptly from his chair and strode outside where his hut was surrounded by a vast field. He imagined a post appearing next to his front door and a long pole with a crooked crossbeam materialized before him.

"You," he barked to the scarecrows within his house, "get out here."

Once the figures exited the building, Geoffrey turned back to the field. Man-like shapes rose from the ground in droves. An army of scowling monsters faced him, still, silent and waiting. They separated to go where Geoffrey had ordered them to go with his mind: unused closets, empty fields and quiet alleyways. They would awaken the next afternoon, ready to wage the war against humanity.

The crowd had thinned considerably before Geoffrey reentered the hut. Since there were no curtains for the windows to block out the stream of heavy moonlight, Geoffrey found that he could not fall asleep on the thin cot in the corner of the room. He lay there for several hours, silence pressing in on him, broken only by the soft ticking of a clock. The ticking got louder and harsher as the time passed.

Awake, strained, excited and tired, Geoffrey passed the long night.

Sparks exploded over the T.A.R.D.I.S. console.

"What happened?" Donna demanded, shielding her head. "Doctor?"

"Huge surge in energy!" the Doctor bellowed over the multiple sirens, unplugging multiple wires until the sparks stopped and the alarms died down. He ran over to grab a fire extinguisher, using it to put out patches of flame. "All that clean fear that that girl released last night, used up. The question is: what was it used for?"

 **Roses are red  
Violets are blue  
I wrote this in hopes that  
You'd read and review**


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who**

Chapter 8

Sunlight poured into Maddie's room and she awoke with a gasp. In the blinding radiance, she could still see maniacal figures reaching toward her. Her sheets were tangled and there were pillows on the floor. Maddie felt glued to the bed and she felt sick in her heart. She rubbed her chest, sticking out her tongue in disgust.

With effort, Maddie pushed herself into a sitting position and wrapped her arms around her torso, rocking back and forth. The scarecrows would get her and she could do nothing to escape. Once her eyes became more accustomed to the brightness, however, her fears lessened. Scarecrows wouldn't come alive.

She experienced a need to relieve herself and crept out of bed to snatch her robe.

Geoffrey had returned in the wee morning hours and found no need to sleep any further. To rid himself of the residual sluggishness, he decided to take a stroll around the halls of the North Wing.

The nearest door to the left creaked open and Maddie stepped out. She did not look well. Her hair was twisted every which way and her eyes were red and puffy from sleep. She gasped when she saw Geoffrey, wrapping her robe closer around her slim frame. The sudden start brought a bright and rather attractive light to her irises.

"Pardon me, Miss Smith," Geoffrey stammered, pretending to be bashful, for Maddie's sake.

"Sorry," she stuttered at the same time.

Realizing the overlap of words, Geoffrey flashed a quick smile. Maddie's cheeks darkened.

"Well I've just forgotten what I came out here for," Maddie said quickly, and Geoffrey knew it was a lie. "Good morning, Mr. Market." She slipped back into her room and closed the door.

Maddie crawled out of bed for the second time that morning and glanced at herself in the mirror. She looked horrible. Her hair was tangled and her eyes were ringed by dark circles. For a minute, she wondered if she had startled Geoffrey. Ignoring her ghastly appearance, Maddie did up her own corset and donned a green gingham dress. She pulled on her white stockings and laced up her boots. Attacking her hair with a brush, Maddie was able to subdue it and pull it into pigtails. She could do nothing for the rings under her eyes and decided her appearance was decent enough.

Before leaving her room, Maddie opened her trunk and pulled from it her two dollies. Wait. Why was she calling them "dollies"? She hadn't called them that since she was eleven. Setting aside the contemplative thought, she sat down and played with them quietly.

"Hello, Doctor Maddie," She whispered in the scarecrow's raspy voice, holding the doll as if it was hot. "I'm still terribly afraid of little girls. They're coming to get me so they can make me human. Then, when I'm all grown up, they'll make me marry one of them."

Although it was a foolish scenario, it comforted Maddie. For some reason, thinking that the scarecrows were just as afraid of her made them less of a threat. Maddie dropped the dolls when someone knocked on the door. Stowing them on her shelf, behind a candle, she answered.

"Since miss is departing in the morning," said a stiff servant with a few wisps of white hair still clinging to his otherwise bald head, "would she like assistance in packing her luggage? Also, young Mr. Smith asks if you should like to join him this morning in an activity."

"No, thank you," Maddie replied. "I can pack my own bags. Tell Mr. Smith that I already have plans."

"Yes, Miss." The old man bowed and turned to leave, then stopped mid-step. "What should I tell Mr. Smith you are to be doing?"

"I'm going on a walk," Maddie said quickly, coming up with the idea on the spot. She had no desire to be with her brother. She still felt sour towards him. "A long walk. People shouldn't expect me back until lunch."

The servant left at last and Maddie shut the door and leaned against it. What was she going to do on such a walk anyway? She'd probably be all alone, so the scarecrows would have an easy… No. Those monsters were merely a figment of her imagination. Maddie refused to be frightened of them.

Maddie found a thick scarf and pulled on her coat before heading downstairs and out the door. She had not taken breakfast, but she did not want to be anywhere where her brother might try to persuade her not to leave. Maddie stepped into the cold October morning, not knowing where she would go.

Michael was floating. Maddie had filled his dreams last night and since Geoffrey had been gone, the young man's sour disposition had not ruined the atmosphere. He absently tossed the glass on his nightstand in the air. Trevor was gone. He left early that morning, without his marble set, which Tom had just expertly hidden on the bookshelf.

Tom returned from answering his door, face downcast. He dropped heavily onto his bed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What's wrong, old chap?" Michael asked airily.

"Maddie's avoiding me," Tom sighed. The name of the angel snapped Michael back to the present. "She's going on a walk."

"By herself?" Michael asked. He was somewhat shocked. Tom was very overprotective of Maddie and for him to give in like this was not in his character.

"No!" Tom dropped his hands and rounded on Michael. "You could go with her. Forget what I said earlier about her being off limits. You like her, and there's no person I'd trust more."

"You want me to go after her?" Michael inquired sharply. "What if she thinks you sent me?"

"Just go," Tom ordered. Michael dropped the glass on the bed and snatched a scarf. He knew better than to argue with that tone. It took him a minute of rummaging through his trunk to find a heavier coat to wear over his everyday jacket. Wrapping the scarf around his throat and pulling the coat over his arms, he charged down the stair and out the door to catch Maddie.

Gray clouds had blanketed the once vibrant sky and Maddie felt a sudden gloom at the loss of color. She missed the blinding radiance from that morning. Several drops of rain landed on her nose and a gentle drizzle misted the world around her. Her hands hurt from the cold and she wished she had brought gloves.

Maddie stopped at a fork in the road. She really had no idea where she was going. There were footsteps behind her, but she didn't turn around. It might just be a traveler.

"One moment, Miss Smith." Maddie spun around to see Michael. Her heart fluttered irregularly and she couldn't help a smile. Tom probably put him up to this, but his sheepish grin gave away that he probably wanted to be there, with or without Tom's urging.

"Did my brother send you?"

"Yes…" Michael stopped ten feet away and scratched the back of his head. His neck was wrapped in a thick wool scarf and he wore a long tan coat over his jacket. "But I wanted to come anyway. Are you still planning on a walk?" His breath fogged the air, even in the rain, and his cheeks and nose were red from the chill.

"I actually don't know what I'm doing, now," Maddie replied. "The weather is against my going on a walk, though." As if to add affirmation to her words, the rain intensified and the wind picked up.

"Would you like to go into town to get ice cream?" Michael asked, cheeks turning redder, though not with the cold.

"Sure," Maddie replied reluctantly. This could prove to be awkward. "Why not?"

Michael offered his arm and Maddie took it. They turned down the left fork and strolled leisurely in the rain. As the rain got harder, Michael stopped them and ran back to the school house, which was still in sight and came back with an umbrella above his head. He held it over both of them and they continued.

A movement caught Maddie's eye through the rain and she swung her head around to see a limp scarecrow hanging on a post in the middle of a nearby field. Her heart stopped when she thought she saw it twitch, but she dismissed it as a trick of the wind.

It was subtle, but Michael had seen Maddie flinch at something behind him. He glanced behind as soon as they had passed ad saw nothing but fields and a scarecrow. Maybe it had been the cold.

Their feet squelched on the muddy road and Maddie nearly slipped a number of times. Michael had to catch her to prevent her from landing in the muck.

Eventually, Maddie and Michael reached town and Michael led Maddie to a small ice cream parlor near the edge of the city. As they stepped beneath the overhang on the porch of the shop, the rain slowed and the clouds parted to reveal the clear blue sky. Maddie sniggered.

"That there is excellent timing," Michael laughed sarcastically, shaking out the umbrella.

Nodding her agreement, Maddie let Michael lead her to a table in the corner. As he bought the ice cream at the counter, Maddie took a good look at him. His dark hair was wet and misplaced, but it gave him a gent appearance. Maddie felt more and more attracted to him by the minute. What was happening to her?

"You have been such a gentleman this whole time," Maddie stated as Michael sat down with the two ice cream sodas. "Thank you."

"I have something to confess," Michael sighed, frowning. "I know you're mad at Tom for something, but I'm really no better. I've been working on it, but I'm usually just as mean, arrogant, and stubborn." Maddie widened her eyes. Why would he be telling her this?

"Personally, I think," Maddie said, sipping her soda, "that if you're working on changing, it makes up for the past bad you've done. Just apologize to those you need to apologize to, and keep trying to be better. Now, once you've mastered it, you can go give Tom the evil eye."

Michael laughed, and over the next hour, Maddie dropped her awkward pretences, as did Michael. She could tell Michael was surprised at his own change. They chatted amiably and Maddie grinned a lot. As each minute passed, they became better friends and the magnetism between them intensified.

After lunch, the two of them decided they ought to head home. It was with reluctance they left the ice cream parlor and strolled arm in arm, more willingly now, down the street. The roads were still slippery, but the sun glared down at them, reflecting off the puddles and making the landscape around them a sort of wonderland. Michael swung the closed umbrella like a sword as they walked, talking animatedly about getting lost on a school trip.

The scarecrow before the fork in the road looked so obnoxious and ratty that Maddie laughed at her fears: really laughed. She had been so silly and childish.

They reached Sandwethers and Michael accompanied Maddie to her room before leaving. Once alone, Maddie opened her trunk and dumped its contents on the floor so she could repack it. She locked the door to her room and began folding the clothes that had been in her trunk. There were so many that were so unnecessary for a trip that had been under a week long. She shrugged and continued.

"Doctor. The numbers: they're dropping," Donna exclaimed, watching the bar on the screen shrink. "What does that mean?"

"It means that that girl is genuinely losing that fear!" the Doctor said with a big grin, slapping the console. "That'll buy us some time."

Geoffrey felt Maddie's fear melt and knew he had to act fast in order to keep the scarecrows strong.

Tom paced in the dining room. He had a headache and he was upset at Maddie. Someone stepped in and Tom looked up to glare and snap at them. His insult caught in his throat when he saw it was the new servant. He had heard somewhere that her name was Christine.

Recalling Maddie's reproaches, he decided he might as well be civil for his sister's sake.

"God day, Christine, is it?" he asked, becoming fonder of the girl's appearance as the seconds ticked by.

"Yes, sir. Good day." Christine did not look up from her work, but Geoffrey saw her cheeks redden.

"I'm afraid I have to apologize for my previous incivility," Tom continued. Christine looked up at last, and she flashed a smile at him. By heaven, she was pretty. "We really started off on the wrong foot," Tom persisted, hoping to get Christine to look at him longer. "Perhaps we could pretend to be meeting for the first time?"

"Well then," Christine set down her bucket and stood up, brushing the dust from her hands onto her apron. She curtsied. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Smith." Tom was shocked to not hear any sarcasm or impatience in her tone. She grinned ear to ear and extended a hand.

It had been at least three hours since Maddie had emptied her luggage in order to put everything away in its proper place inside her trunk. She was done and the lid of the box was closed. Reaching behind the books on the shelf, Maddie retrieved her dolls. Rather than play with them she sat down to admire them.

The scarecrow, although homely, looked almost cute in Maddie's current mindset. The leering face no longer appeared frightening. It wasn't as if it could hurt her. Doctor Maddie had a braver smile than ever. Her hair was split into pigtails and wrapped with purple ribbons that matched her dress.

There was an explosive crash and Maddie jumped to her feet. A thick arm, ending in straw, had just broken through her window and shattered glass littered the floor around the jagged opening.

 **Roses are red  
Violets are blue  
I wrote this in hopes that  
You'd read and review**


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who**

Chapter 9

Maddie screamed.

She backed up several feet. Her knees hit the side of her bed and she fell backwards, landing with a soft thump into her mattress.

Recovering but tangled in her covers, she watched helplessly as the scarecrow finished destroying the window and climbing through. It was clothed exactly like the ones in her nightmare. But it couldn't be real. That was completely illogical. It was probably just a man in a costume trying to scare her. She fought free of her blankets and strode toward the menacing figure.

"Ernie, if that's you," Maddie called to the monster, "I will never forgive you." With that, Maddie reached up and yanked the mask off the creature.

Whatever it was, it was not Ernest Crate.

One of the cords burst into flame as the numbers on the screen skyrocketed. Donna fell backwards off her chair.

"No. No. No. No!" The Doctor gripped both sides of the screen, shaking it. "This is bad. Come on!" He snatched the sonic screwdriver as Donna raced to fling open the T.A.R.D.I.S. doors, only to be faced by a wall of brick.

"Doctor, you parked the T.A.R.D.I.S. against a bloody _BRICK WALL!"_ she roared, throwing up her hands. Even you aren't skinny enough to fit through that crack."  
"Oh, come on!" The Doctor turned back to the console and pressed several buttons. "The traveler's amassed too much energy. It's closed off the continuum. We're stuck."

"Stuck?" Donna cried, shoving against the brick wall. "What bleedin' good are you for, anyway?"

Michael had been lying on his bed for the past three or so hours.

Tom had said nothing to him and Geoffrey had come back sullen and quiet, more so than normal. Michael absently took his glass and began tossing it. The activity didn't make him as relaxed as it used to, but he was changed.

A terrified cry rang through the school house. High pitched, young, it must belong to Maddie.

Knowing that, having left Maddie in a state of euphoria, Maddie had been quite calm and nothing short of a burglar would inspire such fear, Michael rocketed out of the room and shot down the stairs where he snatched a pistol from the cupboard in the kitchen.

Mask slipping through her suddenly cold fingers, Maddie slowly backed away from the scarecrow. It bent down to retrieve its head and replaced in on its sagging shoulders. With a heavy rustling, the scarecrow lunged for her and Maddie was knocked onto the floor by the surprisingly heavy creature. She screamed again, louder, and struggled with its flannel-clad arms as it stood up.

With a bang, Maddie's bedroom door, which had been locked, flew open and Michael stood there. There was not a more welcome sight. He raised a pistol and fired, hitting the scarecrow in the abdomen, just under Maddie's right arm. The monster went limp, dropping Maddie on her feet and sinking slowly to the floor.

"Get behind me!" Michael ordered and Maddie hastily scurried behind him, clinging to his shoulder. He shot at the scarecrow twice more, but the monster's wounds closed and it slowly climbed to its feet. Straw fell in small heaps around the lopsided pants.

Michael seized Maddie's hand and ran down the hallway, closing the door behind them. They couldn't lock it from the outside, so they hurried on, without waiting to see if the scarecrow could break through. Downstairs, Maddie heard an earsplitting crack and turned just long enough to see the scarecrow break down the door to her room and lumber after them. Michael tugged her up the other stairs to the South Wing and to his Dormitory.

Tom and Geoffrey waited for them, ushering them to move faster. Once Maddie and Michael were inside, Geoffrey slammed and locked the door, leaning up against it: as if his slim, lanky body could keep back a creature of such supernatural strength.

"All you alright?" Tom asked, yanking Maddie away from Michael and turning her to face him. He ran a finger across her face. It stung. "You're hurt," he said, face twisting up worriedly. He pulled Maddie into a hug.

"It's just a scratch," Maddie said comfortingly. "I didn't even know it was there. I must have got it when the scarecrow knocked me over.

"Scarecrow?" Tom asked, looking half bemused, half skeptical. "Maddie, those were just nightmares. This is a real thief, not a childhood monster."

"I have to object," Michael interrupted, dragging Tom's attention away from Maddie. "When I shot that thing, it wasn't hurt, and I hit it square in the chest. I saw the bullet go through it and out the window, but we didn't see any blood."

As if to affirm their claims, the arm of the scarecrow punched a hole in the door. Maddie shrieked, knees buckling. Geoffrey caught her before she could hit the floor, helping her to her feet. Tom and Michael seized the arm and pulled down. With a ripping sound, the limb tore free and straw flew around the room. The creature on the other side made no sound of suffering, but continued banging with the other arm.

There was a loud crash, muffled grunts then an uncanny silence. Maddie sank onto the nearest bed, trembling. Her ears rang and her stomach churned. There was a brisk rapping on the door and a gruff voice came through.

"This is Professor Grant," the voice coughed. "The scarecrow is disassembled, but it will only be a matter of time before it comes to."

Trevor and several other boys from Sandwethers left the forest after their game of hide and seek and headed back to the school building. Trevor's limbs ached and his nose itched. They stopped by the front door to wipe their feet. Professor Grant would have their hides if they tracked mud into the house.

One of the boys yelled, and they all turned to see a large, lopsided figure looming over them. Running inside, many bolted for the kitchen, but Trevor ran for his dormitory.

Geoffrey shoved Michael and Tom out of the way as he wrenched the door open to reveal a balding teacher in a tweed coat and Trevor running up behind. The scarecrow lay in a mangled heap on the floor. It was stirring slowly, but did not show any signs of coherency just yet.

"More of these monsters have infiltrated the cellars and are flooding the building," Professor Grant panted. His eyes were oddly glazed over. "We'll soon be overrun if we don't get to the yard and escape across country."

Michael took Maddie's hand and they crept after the Professor with Tom and Geoffrey. His pam was sweaty and Maddie was surprised that her hand did not slip out of his. Geoffrey didn't look half as concerned as the rest. Before exiting the house, they emptied the closet of its six revolvers and long sticks. Michael handed Maddie one of the guns.

"When the scarecrow gets to close," Michael explained, "pull the trigger. Aim for its head."

There was a sound coming from the pantry. Christine peeped around the corner of the door. Seeing her, Tom ran over with a finger pressed against his lips.

"You need to either come with us or hide here," Tom said quickly, but gently.

"I'll stay here, thanks." Christine smiled waveringly. She pulled back into the pantry and it went dark under the door.

They had only taken five or six steps into the yard before fifty figures sprang from the bushes. Their escape was cut off by another twenty monsters. Maddie's vision swam and she felt tears streaming down her cheeks. She brought her free hand up to her face and bit down on the thumb.

Why? Why was this happening? It was just like her dreams. Maybe it was another dream. Maddie tried to convince herself that this encounter was nothing but a nightmare. She pinched herself for reassurance. It hurt. But maybe she had nicked herself on the side of her bed and that was what had hurt. Maddie bit the inside of her cheek. That felt real enough. Now that she considered it, Maddie realized that it was too clear to be a dream. Dreams had a tilt in the world and she moved sluggishly in them.

But it was still like her dreams which meant…

"Tom, Michael!" Maddie called over the shots as the scarecrows rushed them. "They can't die: not by pistol, fire or anything!"

"We had assumed that," Tom grunted, shoving a scarecrow in the chest and sending it flying.

Maddie's head began to pound as reality set in. This wasn't a dream. The scarecrows were coming. They were coming for her, and they would make her one of them.

Black crept in on the edges of her vision. Her ears filled with imagined screams. Nothing could save her. The world spun around her, her eyes closed and Maddie lost consciousness.

 **Roses are red  
Violets are blue  
I wrote this in hopes that  
You'd read and review**


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who**

Chapter 10

A little girl skipped around the empty street, an enormous red balloon tied to her wrist. Ernest watched her groggily. He shook his head and headed inside the ice cream parlor to escape to growing chill.

Turning away from the window to drink in the smells of fresh ice cream, he was startled by a scream. He swung around and saw the little girl cowering in front of several hulking figures.

Ernest burst out the door to give them a piece of his mind. When he reached them, he about fell over. They were scarecrows. The corners of the sackcloth on their faces twitched into a disturbing smile as they reached for both him and the child.

Michael grunted with the effort of throwing off one of the hundreds of scarecrows. Tom, Trevor and Geoffrey were fighting with their backs to him and Maddie was cowering between them. Michael didn't know where Professor Grant had gone.

"I'm out of shot!" Geoffrey complained. "We need to get to the artillery shack."

They fought through the sea of monsters, using their last couple of bullets to clear a slim pathway. Tom hit the padlock with the butt of his pistol and wrenched the door open. Everyone took another brace of pistols and Tom hoisted a machine gun over his shoulder. Michael reached out to hand Maddie a small rifle. She wasn't there. Michael searched the area and couldn't see her.

"Tom," Michael shouted over the pandemonium, "Maddie's gone!"

"What?" Tom nearly dropped the heavy firearm in shock. "I thought you were watching her!"

"Look over there." Geoffrey pointed to three or four scarecrows carrying away a limp black form.

"Will she be hurt?" Michael asked Tom as they retrieved as much artillery as they could carry and they fought their way to the back door. They slammed through the house and pounded their way up the stairs back to their room. The scarecrows hadn't remained in the school, so it was a quick shot to the dormitory.

"We can't do anything about it," Tom sighed.

Professor Credits stormed out of his office, ready to give these rowdy boys a beating. Gunshots rang through the house and wood cracked. A blow to his head sent the headmaster reeling sideways. He turned to smack the culprit. He stopped short. An enormous monstrosity of a scarecrow loomed at least a foot taller than him.

With a shout, Professor Credits backed into his room and locked the door. Guessing from the cracking that reverberated through the building, the door would not hold the giant for long, so he crept through the office and into the adjoining bedchamber. He yanked open the door to his wardrobe and stepped in. He curled beneath a heavy coat and closed the entrance. He stayed as silent as he could, especially after he heard the scarecrow destroy his door.

Tom and Michael slammed and locked the door and slid their bedside tables against it. Their door opened in, so this was effective. Glancing around, Michael noticed that Geoffrey was missing.

"Tom, Geoff-"

"I know," Tom sighed, aiming his machine gun through the hole the fist scarecrow had created earlier.

"Can I help?"

Michael yelped and swung around to see a cowering Trevor emerging from the wardrobe.

"Here," Tom turned and handed Trevor one of the smaller pistols.

After a while, they began to relax. Tom abandoned his post at the door and collapsed onto his bed. He remained there, barely moving. A thunderous crack was followed by the shattering of glass.

Tom shot up. There was a new, smaller hole through the door. The mirror by Michael's bed was in pieces on the floor. Tom cautiously peeked through the large hole and cursed, using a word that Maddie probably would have smacked him for.

"They've got firearms!" Tom shouted, adding another curse.

 **Roses are red  
Violets are blue  
I wrote this in hopes that  
You'd read and review**


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who**

Chapter 11

Maddie's arms hurt. Her head hurt. Her whole body hurt, for that matter. Her eyes were closed and she didn't feel like opening them. What had happened? Maddie remembered blacking out, but that was the extent until she awoke. She was experiencing a strange sensation and she was pretty sure she wasn't on the ground.

Forcing herself to look, she saw that she was hanging, tied at the waist, upper arms, wrists, and ankles, from a thick, round post in the idle of a field. It was dark and the moon was up. She glanced down. Over her dress, Maddie was wearing the same flannel many of the scarecrows wore. What? Then it dawned on her.

The post, the flannel, the hay- it all made sense. They were trying to turn her into one of them. It was her nightmares. They were really coming true. Maddie tried to fight her way free of her bonds. Why? Once her eyes became more accustomed to the darkness, Maddie could see a ring of scarecrows standing watch and a small shack twenty or so feet away.

A lone figure made its way up the hill and toward the shack. It wasn't one of the monsters. Their brisk, strait gait was nothing like the awkward loping of the scarecrows. Once it got closer, Maddie could see it was a man in a trench coat, wearing a dark hat pulled over his eyes. He pulled open the door of the shed and was stepping in when Maddie picked up her courage.

"Who are you?" she asked loudly. She had never been brave enough to talk in any of her dreams.

The man pulled off his hat and to Maddie's surprise, she saw Geoffrey. His eyes had dark circles beneath them, but he didn't look as serious as he usually did. A demented smile twisted his lips and he let off a hellish cheerfulness.

Maddie was going to throw a number of questions, hard fast and furious, at him, but all that came out was, "Why?"

"Because I felt like it." It was a very childish answer, but with the cruelty glazing his eyes, it came across sinister. "I have had such a life." His voice was hoarse, possessed. "I hate the world and the world hates me. This time is repulsed by me. I am an anomaly in nature. An impossibility that disgusts what is normal. I am a futuristic man stuck in a primitive world. The sheep will never accept the rabid wolf as a friend."

"What do you mean by an anomaly of nature?" Maddie inquired. Her arm was almost completely loose. _Keep monologue-ing,_ she thought.

"I come from the twenty-first century." Geoffrey glared into Maddie's eyes and strode toward her. "My accident sent me here. It changed me. I am a logical thinker's worst nightmare." He pinned Maddie's completely free arm back to the beam and tied the hanging rope back around it. Maddie felt her arm grow numb from the cut in circulation.

"How did you make this happen?" Maddie asked, gesturing with her head to the concourses of crudely formed scarecrows.

"My time-traveling disaster gave me unique abilities," Geoffrey answered sullenly. "I can bring bad dreams to life, animate anyone's personal boogey man and sense the fear I need to do it."

"So you reached into my head to get the fear to start all this?" Maddie sagged against the pole. Her dreams were certainly not figments of her imagination anymore.

"Yes."

The night fell silent except for the occasional distant gunshot and the chirping of a lonely cricket. Maddie wondered if the scarecrows had killed Michael yet.

Then it hit her. Doctor Creevins' parting words came back to her in a rush. He had said she had more power over her dreams than she knew. They were still merely a figment of her imagination. Maddie concentrated on memories of exercises the doctor had employed in trying to help Maddie gain control.

Maddie willed the scarecrows to turn on Geoffrey and tie him up. She imagined their lopsided heads turning toward him as they loped in his direction. Slowly, the leering creatures complied, and Geoffrey was confronted with several seven-foot-high monsters that bore down upon him. Maddie could feel her concentration slipping as Geoffrey roared with fury. She willed the scarecrows to let up, certain if they did not they would kill him, but they refused to heed her. She watched in horror as Geoffrey fell beneath the throng. When the monstrosities grew limp, Maddie knew that Geoffrey was dead.

Hundreds of looming figures across the field went limp and began to fade. The ones directly surrounding Geoffrey had disappeared completely. Maddie sighed and tears sprang to her eyes as she looked at the still form of the young man. Tom had been awfully fond of Geoffrey and this would surely break his heart.

The T.A.R.D.I.S. lights flared to life.

"Yes!" The Doctor flipped the switch, starting the time machine.

"What?" Donna asked, closing and cleaning against the doors.

"The numbers have dropped, but how? They're just gone. Nothing. No source. No receptor, like the traveler just turned off…" he cut off, dropping his hand. "Oh."

The T.A.R.D.I.S. landed, and the Doctor pushed past Donna to open the doors. Donna gasped at the sight.

Michael watched in shock as all the weapon-wielding monsters toppled and began fading. Tom and Trevor stood up on shaky legs next to him. Trevor's arm bled profusely and Tom had sustained a plum-colored bruise on his lower jaw.

Once Michael had recovered from the heat of battle, he remembered Maddie and Geoffrey. By the time the words had formed in his mouth, Tom and Trevor were already out the door and running down the stairs.

They followed the direction they had seen the scarecrows carrying Maddie go. The sun dawned pale and watery over the purple horizon. The sunrise was not as glorious as it usually was.

It was perhaps thirty minutes before they found Maddie and Geoffrey in a field. Maddie was tied to a pole like a scarecrow and Geoffrey lay on the ground, unmoving. Trevor dropped to his knees and searched for a pulse. Maddie's eyes fluttered open, and seeing Trevor at his work, said, "You won't find one. He died more than half an hour ago." Her voice was flat, void of her usual character. There were tears dripping down her cheeks and Michael rushed to her side to help her down.

"What happened?" Tom asked steadying Maddie when she hit the earth.

"He's the reason the scarecrows came to life," Maddie explained, panting. "He called himself an anomaly of nature. He thought the world hated him. He was out to get revenge."

"How do you mean?" Trevor had not left Geoffrey's side.

"I don't understand it myself," she replied. "But I think I know someone who might."

Tom made the decision to leave Geoffrey in the field and to go into town to assess the damage. Maddie was not particularly pleased as she found her ankle was swollen and town was a good walk away.

"Would you like me to carry you?" Michael asked in Maddie's ear. Before she could answer, he swept her up into his arms. Maddie squeaked as the earth disappeared beneath her feet, but relaxed after a moment.

"How's that ankle?" Trevor inquired, catching up to them. Maddie smiled at him, too exhausted to answer.

The scene that awaited them was horrid. Small groups of people huddled against buildings, shielding the faces of children in the folds of their clothing. Others lay unconscious or dead in the street, some severely bludgeoned, and some wounded from artillery. A red-cheeked man came forward and grimly shook Tom's hand.

"Would you gents help us," he begged.

"Certainly," Michael replied. "Is there someplace sheltered we can leave Maddie?" He bounced her slightly as he spoke.

Maddie ended up at a table in the nearby ice cream parlor in the care of the slender woman who worked there. After a short conversation, Maddie found out her name was Mrs. Gertrude and that the scarecrows had come out of nowhere and had begun attacking. After a small cup of tea, and a slightly altered retelling of Maddie's story, Tom returned, an expression of despair on his face. Michael was behind him, looking confused.

"Ernest Crate is dead," Tom said.

"What?" The spirit of joy that had bubbled to life in the conversation between the two women deflated.

"He was killed protecting a number of children from the orphanage," Tom continued. "The children are all safe, but Ernest did not make it."

"I didn't even get to say goodbye…" Maddie's voice quavered and she felt tears well behind her eyes. They crept out slowly at first, but soon turned into a monsoon. "Poor Ernie."

"Who was Ernest?" Michael asked gently. He pulled up a chair next to Maddie and tugged her into a tight embrace. Maddie let her shoulders shake and she cried harder and harder. She had forgiven Ernie, but they had never had the chance to patch up their friendship.

"He was her childhood friend," Tom answered when Maddie's sobs continued. "Ernie was the reason she was so terrified of scarecrows."

"Excuse me!" Doctor Smith and Miss Noble entered the ice cream parlor, and Maddie waved at them. Doctor Smith, who had spoken, jogged up to their table. "What happened?"

"Who are you?" Tom asked, crossing his arms.

"This is Doctor Smith and Miss Noble," Maddie explained.

"Erm… it's just the Doctor," Doctor Smith said sheepishly. "And this is Donna. So what happened."

"My brother's friend brought my nightmares to life and attacked the Town," Maddie elaborated, resting her elbow on the table. "We were hoping you could tell us the rest."

 **Roses are red  
Violets are blue  
I wrote this in hopes that  
You'd read and review**


	13. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who**

Epilogue:

 _Ten years later_

Maddie struggled with her hat in a most unfashionable way. The crisp Bristol breeze continuously tried to pull the ribbons loose and steal the item. She tried to avoid looking at the gruff people that sidled past her.

Someone took her hand and she swung her head around. Michael stood there, grinning ear to ear. His face was tanned and his hair was longer than she remembered. It had been a good two months since she had seen his wonderful face.

"And how are you, Mrs. Traines?" he asked as he pulled her in for a quick hello peck on the lips.

"Most wonderful," she replied, allowing him to lead her through the crowds and to the awaiting carriage. "And you, Mr. Traines?"

"Great." He chuckled. Michael looked tired, now that Maddie could see his features. It had obviously been a long eight weeks for both of them. "And how is Nora?"

"She is reading amazingly," Maddie started. She stopped short, pausing in her stride as well. "However, she's started having nightmares. They keep her up late into the night, and when she's asleep, I'm awake, listening to her crying."

"I think it might be a good idea to tell her your story." Michael helped Maddie into the carriage, then clambered in behind. "What are her nightmares about?"

"Ghosts, mostly," Maddie replied, adjusting her hat again. To her exasperation, Michael reached up and gently tugged it off her head.

"It's not as if we're really going anywhere," he whispered at her expression. "It's too bad that Doctor Creevins passed away a year ago."

"Yes, it is."

Nora was curled against the head of her bed, blankets held to her chest, when Maddie and Michael walked in to tuck her in. She lit up a little when she saw her father.

"Daddy!" She stood up on her bed and ran over to give Michael a hug.

"How's my favorite five-year-old?" He asked, talking into her hair. Maddie chuckled. It was priceless to see her husband hold her daughter so.

"I'm scared to go to sleep," Nora whispered conspiratorially when she pulled away. "I know that as soon as I close my eyes, the ghosts will see me and they'll get me.

"Are the ghosts hiding in your dreams?" Michael asked, looking over at Maddie. It was nearly her queue.

"Yes." Nora crept under the covers and curled up there.

"Can I teach you something I learned when I was younger?" Maddie asked, sitting next to Michael on the end of the bed. Nora nodded. "Well, first off, dreams are only a figment of your imagination. You have more power over them than you know. I used to have bad dreams, too, but the adventure didn't really start until I say a strange blue box across the street."

The End

 **Thanks for reading through this far. Sorry about the Chapter length inconsistency (It happens when I don't pay attention).**

 **Roses are red  
Violets are blue  
I wrote this in hopes that  
You'd read and review**


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